Eventually, all property management services come into contact with difficult tenants, evictions, and damages to their property. Most of the time, it’s extraordinarily difficult to handle these kinds of situations, especially without professional, skilled advice and a plan for success. Most tenants know (or at least suspect) that property management services and their employees are at least a little leery of evicting tenants, making it important to follow the best protocol possible to avoid a sticky snafu with your next eviction or non-paying tenant.
In our 15 plus years of business, we’ve learned exactly how to handle evictions the right way, avoiding the terrifying, lengthy, expensive, and highly complicated process that can come along with these kinds of situations.

Handling Evictions With Expertise, Poise and Grace

First ensure that you’ve filed all the necessary paperwork (if you aren’t sure about this process, call your local city hall and ask about any particulars that might need to be filed) as well as posting notices at the property in question. Property managers may be required to pay a fee to the court, sheriff or process server, and in many cases, making mistakes in these steps will cost you an arm and a leg.

Secondly, it’s safe to assume that even under the best circumstances, your eviction process will take at least two weeks, if the tenants are served in the timeliest manner possible. Expect to pay anywhere from $75 to several hundred dollars to the courts, in addition to the lost rent that you’re dealing with, damages, or stress.

Third, assume that your tenants are going to abuse the system and take advantage of loopholes to get them out of their debt. These tactics can include requirements prescribed in contractual agreements, ignored maintenance requests, fudged books, or flawed verbal agreements. In these cases, property managers should insist on having all evidence to dismiss claims (e.g. applications, leases, blank account statements) to help you win your case and hurry the court to a decision. In these cases, eviction processes can take several months- or longer, and who knows what condition your property will be in.

Fourth, hard times, lost jobs, or overwhelming payments might cause turmoil, but in the end, they don’t justify missing rent payments. Legally, property management professionals and leasers are required to present tenants with fate accompli, providing them with an understanding of how eviction processes work (including credit reporting, and other associated costs), with an attempt to talk them into vacating before everyone suffers the headache of legal proceedings.

Finally, don’t stress about security deposits. In situations like these, property owners have the right to receive the entire safety deposit without any dispute, especially if there are disagreements regarding defaulting tenants and their obligations as such. Generally speaking, following the proper procedures typically evacuates tenants without stress and headache, and the struggle of a potential legal battle. Instead, contact us to get tips and advice on how to deal with your problem.